Many electrical systems are comprised of devices that are interconnected via electronic cables. These cables may be used to provide electric power to the systems, or may carry data to and from the systems. In a data storage array system, for example, the individual components within that array may be interconnected by Ethernet or fiber optic data cables, and that array may be connected to other arrays via similar cables. The individual cables in these systems may look similar to one another, may be numerous in quantity, may run in the same direction and connect to an array of ports on a device in a relatively tight space. Often, a need arises to temporarily disconnect, or replace one or more of these cables, to perform a system upgrade or repair, for example. A device that organizes and identifies where these cables were previously connected can be useful in restoring the system back to the proper state upon completion of the upgrade or repair.
Conventional methods of managing these cables may, at their simplest, involve the application of identifying labels to the cables exterior surface once the conduits are initially installed in the system. Another method used to manage these cables is to gather the cables in groups using a cable management device. The cable management device that bundles the cables in this fashion would have a predetermined number of locations or slots to receive the cables of predetermined size. Organizing the cables in this manner can help a user identify, by group, which cables were connected next to each other on a particular area of the system, and in which order (from left to right for example). A disadvantage to such a device is that it is not ideal for applications where the user requires more, or fewer, conduits than the predetermined number of locations provided on that cable management device. A cable management device that has four total slots, for example, would allow one to manage up to four cables, and so might have empty or blank slots if the user did not require four cables for the application. Similarly, using the example above, a user with five total cables would then have to split the desired cable group into at least two smaller groups to make room for the fifth cable. An additional disadvantage to the prior art is that it is not flexible to cables of varying size. For example, in the prior art, the user would not have the flexibility to manage several cables of one diameter, and several cables of a vastly different diameter using the same cable management device. Instead, using the prior art method, two different cable management devices each specifically designed for the cables of the particular size would be required, thus forcing a grouping by size rather than how they are being installed in the system.